what is whatsmybrand.com?
It's a new website that will provide a directory, or index, of food and drink products on sale in grocery retailers in the UK. But it will do much more than simply list products. It will also hold detailed information about product attributes, such as ingredients, nutritional composition, health benefits, origins and packaging.
who will use it?
whatsmybrand.com will be used by the growing number of consumers interested in the content and provenance of the food and drink they buy.
It will be particularly useful for those consumers who have special dietary requirements. Maybe they have an allergy; or the doctor has told them not to eat products high in salt.
But it will also be used by consumers who want to find products that have been made in a certain way: locally produced, organically, Kosher for example.
how does it work?
It couldn't be easier.
Let's say you are a consumer who is on a low fat diet, who has a gluten intolerance and who likes to buy Fairtrade products. You just type these attributes into whatsmybrand.com's intelligent search engine and, hey presto, you'll be presented with all the products available that meet your needs.
It'll also tell you where they are sold so you'll know where to buy them and at what price! Consumers can also browse the site at their leisure by category.
how much will you charge consumers for using it?
Nothing! Consumers can use whatsmybrand.com as much as they like at no cost. They don't even need to register – although if they do, they will get the benefits of personalising their search settings, save and update their searches into personalised product lists, implement their preferred retail price comparison and link to shop online with partaking retailers. They will also get regular product updates to suit their health, ethical and lifestyle requirements. On the other hand it will also enable us to track users of the site, providing invaluable information to the manufacturers and brands using the service.
will people be able to use the site to shop?
whatsmybrand.com is an information portal. Our focus is on becoming the authoritative and comprehensive information hub for consumers hungry for information about their groceries. Consumers that take our free membership will have the convenience of being able to price compare and then link to their preferred partaking retailers to shop online.
so how will the website make money?
Manufacturers and retailers who wish to list their products on the site pay just £60 per range per year. That's not £60 per SKU, but £60 per range. So if you are a crisps manufacturer with a range of 10 flavours, you'll pay only £60 to list all of them! Retailers who wish to list price information in relation to the products on the site can do so for a fixed annual fee. There is also a service which allows retailers to pay per ‘click' if someone accesses their site through a live link on whatsmybrand.com.
anything else?
Yes, there is one thing. Naturally, we are aiming to turn whatsmybrand.com into a profitable business, but we also want to put something back into the community. That's why we have pledged to donate 2% of our gross profits directly to the London Rebuilding Society, an organisation which provides loans to social enterprise start-ups. We received a loan from LRS to get us started – so it's only right that we give something back once we start turning a profit.